Electric vehicle propulsion system and method utilizing solid-state rechargeable electrochemical cells

ABSTRACT

A vehicle propulsion system comprising a plurality of solid state rechargeable battery cells configured to power a drivetrain. In accordance with once aspect of the invention, a transportation system that is powered at least in part by electricity stored in the form of rechargeable electrochemical cells. According to an embodiment of the present invention, these cells are combined in series and in parallel to form a pack that is regulated by charge and discharge control circuits that are programmed with algorithms to monitor state of charge, battery lifetime, and battery health.

CROSS-REFERENCES TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

The present application incorporates by reference and claims priority tothe following pending patent application U.S. Pat. App. No. 61/471,072,filed Apr. 1, 2011. Also, the present application incorporates byreference, for all purposes, the following pending patent documents:U.S. Pat. No. 7,945,344 filed Jun. 15, 2009, U.S. patent applicationSer. No. 13/292,663 filed Nov. 9, 2011, U.S. patent application Ser. No.13/283,528 filed Oct. 27, 2011, and U.S. patent application Ser. No.13/285,368 filed Oct. 31, 2011.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

The invention relates to solid state rechargeable battery and vehiclepropulsion. More particularly, the present invention provides a methodand system for an all solid-state rechargeable battery and a vehiclepropulsion system powered by the battery. Merely by way of example, theinvention has been applied to a vehicle propulsion system, but there maybe a variety of other applications.

Liquid and particulate based energy storage systems are known. That is,rechargeable electrochemical storage systems have long been employed inautomotive and transportation applications, including passengervehicles, fleet vehicles, electric bicycles, electric scooters, robots,wheelchairs, airplanes, underwater vehicles and autonomous drones.Rechargeable electrochemical storage systems with liquid or gelelectrolytes are commonly used in these applications in order to takeadvantage of their relatively high ionic diffusivity characteristics.Different anode and cathode half-cell reactions have been deployed thatcan be categorized into conventional lead-acid, nickel-cadmium (NiCd),nickel-metal-hydride (NiMH), and Lithium-ion (Li-ion).

For example, conventional lead acid batteries contain electrodes ofelemental lead (Pb) and lead oxide (PbO2) that are submersed in a liquidelectrolyte of sulfuric acid (H2SO4). Rechargeable NiMH batteriestypically consist of electrodes of that are submersed in a liquidalkaline electrolyte such as potassium hydroxide. The most common typeof rechargeable Li-ion batteries typically consist of electrodes thatare submersed in an organic solvent such as ethylene carbonate, dimethylcarbonate, and diethyl carbonate that contain dissolved lithium saltssuch as LiPF6, LiBF4 or LiClO4. In lithium-ion polymer batteries thelithium-salt electrolyte is not held in an organic solvent but in asolid polymer composite such as polyethylene oxide or polyacrylonitrile.

Liquid electrolytes generally require a non-conductive separators inorder to prevent the shorting of the rechargeable battery cell.Microporous polymer separators are usually used in combination withliquid electrolytes such that lithium ions are permitted to pass throughthe separator between the electrodes but electrons are not conducted.However, these separators are relatively expensive, are the source ofdefects, and often detract from the energy density of the finishedproduct.

Another problem with the use of organic solvent in the electrolyte isthat these solvents can decompose during charging or discharging. Whenappropriately measured, the organic solvent electrolytes decompose onthe initial charging and form a solid layer called the solid electrolyteinterphase (SEI), which is electrically insulating, yet providessufficient ionic conductivity.

These liquid or polymer electrolyte rechargeable electrochemical storagesystems can be connected in series or in parallel in order to makeadditional voltage or current available at the pack level. Electrifieddrivetrain systems may demand power delivery in the range of 2horsepower to 600 horsepower and they may require energy storage in therange of 1 kWh to 100 kWh, depending upon the needs of the vehicle, withpower needs of over 1000 W/kg.

In order to meet these energy and power requirements while obtainingsufficient safety, the existing art teaches towards fabrication ofsmaller cathode particles, even in the nano-scale, such as the LiFePO4nano-material that is being marketed by A123 Systems. These smallernanoparticles reduce the transport distance any particular Li-ion needsto travel from the liquid electrolyte to reach the interior most pointof the cathode particle, which reduces the generation of heat and stressin the cathode material during the charge and discharge of the battery.Therefore, it would be unexpected to one of ordinary skill in the artwho is making battery cells for applications other than lowdischarge-rate microelectronics that a cathode film where the smallestaxis is over one micron thick would create a viable product.Conventional manufacturers of rechargeable battery cells for electricvehicles and portable electronics generally prefer to select as cathodesheterogeneous, agglomerations comprised of nano- and micro-scaledparticles that are mixed in a wet slurry and then extruded through aslotted die or thinned via a doctor blade, whereupon subsequent dryingand compaction results in an open-cell, porous structure that admitsliquid or gel electrolyte to permeate its pores providing intimatecontact with the active material.

In addition, the conventional technique suggests that rectangular,prismatic cells such as those utilized by A123 Systems, Dow Kokam,LGChem, EnerDel and others in their electric vehicle battery packs mustbe contained in a pack that has foam or other compressible materialsbetween the cells. The conventional technique teaches that over thelifetime of a large automotive battery pack these cells will undergoswelling, and foam or another compressible material is required to beused as a spacer between these battery cells in order to maintainsufficient pressure in the beginning of the pack's lifetime but whichwill also yield as the cells swell. The conventional technique alsoteaches compression bands or another mechanical mechanism to keep theexternal battery pack casing from opening as the cells swell. Theconventional technique also teaches that pressure on the battery cellsis required to assure good performance, putatively because of themaintenance of good contact and thus low contact resistance and goodconductivity in the battery cells.

At the pack level, the conventional technique teaches that complexcontrols are needed to manage packs of battery cells, particularly tomanage the unknown lifetimes that result from side reactions inagglomerated particulate cells between the active materials incombination with liquid or cell electrolytes at temperature extrema orat state-of-charge minima or maxima ranges. For example, these controlsarchitectures typically possess algorithms that combine voltagemonitoring with coulomb-counting mechanisms to estimate the currentstate-of-charge of each individual cell that is contained in the batterypack. Each cell may then be operated at the voltage and current of thecell that is measured to have the lowest voltage and charge in order tomaintain cell lifetime and reduce the probabilities of a thermalrunaway. Packs which are constructed from a plurality of cells named inthis invention may not require such complex controls architectures dueto the higher uniformity at the particle and cell level from alternatemanufacturing techniques.

Existing solid state batteries, Solid-state batteries, such as thosedescribed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,338,625 have been developed that utilize asolid, often ceramic, electrolyte rather than a polymer or a liquid.However, public research of these electrolytes have shown that they arewidely known to suffer from relatively low ionic conductivities (see“Fabrication and Characterization of Amorphous Lithium Electrolyte ThinFilms and Rechargeable Thin-Film Batteries”, J. B. Bates et al. Journalof Power Sources, 43-44 (1993) 103-110. In this invention, the inventorshave used computational models they invented to determine the materialslayer thicknesses and configurations that are optimal, knowing the ionicconductivity and diffusivity properties that are measured in theelectrolyte, anode, and cathode materials of materials they havefabricated and which are in the literature. Furthermore, thesesolid-state batteries are typically produced on relatively small areas(less than 100 square centimeters) that limit the total capacity of thecell in Ampere-hours (Ah).

For example, the largest battery cell in the Thinergy line of solidstate battery product that is currently produced by Infinite PowerSolutions is stated to contain 2.5 mAh of total capacity in a packagethat has dimensions of 25.4 mm×50.8 mm×0.17 mm and a maximum current of100 mA at a nominal voltage rating of 4.1 volts. These solid statebattery cells have a nominal energy density of only 46.73 Wh/L which arefar below the industry norm of 200-400 Wh/L for comparable Li-ion liquidelectrolyte cells. In addition, the miniscule capacity of these cellsthat results from their design and the choice of utilizing a batchproduction process means that it would take over 1,500,000 of thesecells connected in series and in parallel in order to achieve a packwith net nominal energy storage of at least 16 kWh, which is the energystorage capacity of a typical extended range electric vehicle (EREV)such as the Chevrolet Volt. Existing solid-state battery cell designsand fabrication processes therefore are impractical for inclusion in anelectric vehicle drivetrain.

Moreover, these small solid-state batteries suffer from low energydensity at the product scale due to a relatively large mass ratio ofpack to active materials. Additionally, existing solid-state batteriesare often made using expensive and low-rate methods such as sputteringand chemical vapor deposition (CVD). Other faster processes have beenhypothesized, such as chemical bath deposition (CBD), but remain to beproven. These faster processes may reveal difficulties in producinguniform products with defect rates that are low enough to be tolerableto the transportation industry.

The selection of the substrate material is another importantdifferentiator in the product that has been designed by the inventors.To date, practitioners of solid state batteries have selected substrateswhich are able to be annealed and which may be more robust duringfurther packaging steps, such as ceramic plates, silicon wafers,metallic foils, and thicker polymer materials such as polyimides whichare greater than 8 to 10 microns thick and which have high heattolerances. None of these materials currently being used are availablein gauges that are less than 5 to 10 microns thick. In contrast, in thisinvention the inventors have selected to pair a thinner polymersubstrate, under 10 microns, which is not capable of being annealed.

Clearly, this trend leads to inherent problems in the current practiceof device design and manufacturing. Accordingly, it is seen that thereexists a need for an apparatus and method to produce an improved solidstate battery for large scale production.

BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

According to the present invention, techniques related to solid staterechargeable battery and vehicle propulsion are provided. Moreparticularly, the present invention provides a method and system for anall solid-state rechargeable battery and a vehicle propulsion systempowered by the battery. Merely by way of example, the invention has beenapplied to a vehicle propulsion system, but there may be a variety ofother applications.

In accordance with once aspect of the invention, a transportation systemthat is powered at least in part by electricity stored in the form ofrechargeable electrochemical cells wherein those cells:

-   -   Achieve a specific volumetric energy density of at least 300        Wh/L and have a nominal capacity of at least 1 Ampere Hour    -   Contain a cathode material consisting of a phosphate or oxide        compound that is capable of achieving substantial lithium or        magnesium intercalation    -   Contain anode material consisting of a carbonaceous, silicon,        tin, lithium metal or other material that is capable of plating        or intercalating lithium or magnesium    -   Contain a solid electrolyte that consists of a phosphate or a        ceramic    -   Are produced on a roll-to-roll production process

According to an embodiment of the present invention, these cells arecombined in series and in parallel to form a pack that is regulated bycharge and discharge control circuits that are programmed withalgorithms to monitor state of charge, battery lifetime, and batteryhealth.

This invention may be incorporated in a hybrid vehicle drive train,including full hybrid, mild hybrid, and plug-in hybrids. This inventionmay also be utilized with different drive train structures, includingparallel hybrids, series hybrids, power-split, and series-parallelhybrids.

Although the above invention has been applied in a vehicle, the abovecan also be applied to any mobile computing device including, but notlimited to smartphones, tablet computers, mobile computers, video gameplayers, MP3 music players, voice recorders, motion detectors. Lightingsystems that include a battery, LED or other organic light source, andsolar panels may also be applied. Furthermore, aerospace and militaryapplications such as starter motors, auxiliary power systems, satellitepower sources, micro-sensor devices, and power sources for unmannedaerial vehicles may be applied.

The potential benefits of solid state batteries with ceramic separatorshave been discussed for over a decade, but to date few have trulycommercialized this product. One challenge that plagued thecommercialization of this product is the development of product designparameters with high levels of performance. Another challenge that hasnot been previously overcome is the development of a roll-to-rollproduction process that is required to make larger format-sized (greaterthan 1/10^(th) amp-hour) solid state batteries and winding them andpackaging them in a format that can power products that require greaterthan a micro-amp of electrical current.

The design of a solid state battery cell that can be produced at scalehas been limited by the absence of computational design tools and thehigh capital expenditures required to arrive near an optimized designthrough a trial-and-error process. This invention has been productizedafter years of work and millions of dollars of investment.

The inventors have completed a computational design toolset thatutilizes physics-based codes and optimization algorithms to arrive at aset of optimized designs for solid-state batteries that are designedspecifically for use in a number of applications. An example of suchtool has been described in U.S. Ser. No. 12/484,959 filed Jun. 15, 2009,and titled COMPUTATIONAL METHOD FOR DESIGN AND MANUFACTURE OFELECTROCHEMICAL SYSTEMS, commonly assigned, and hereby incorporated byreference herein. Without these tools it would be difficult it notimpossible to calculate the optimal materials and layer thicknesses forthe substrate, the cathode current collector, the cathode, the solidstate electrolyte, the anode, and the anode current collector. This isthe only design work of its kind that has been done computationally andverified experimentally, and an optimal set of designs has beengenerated after years of work and evaluation of literally millions ofpossible solid state battery designs.

The results of the invention are a solid state battery that has energydensity above 300 Wh/L. Although this has been achieved using somebattery systems that are designed with liquid or gel electrolytes, nosolid state batteries with ceramic electrolytes have come close toachieving this level of energy density. Furthermore, the ceramicelectrolytes and the design that is employed by Sakti3 eliminates theoccurrence of lithium dendrites and other undesirable side reactionsthat occurs between the liquid or gel electrolyte and the batterymaterials in conventional wound lithium-ion batteries. Additionally, thesolid ceramic electrolyte that is utilized in this invention alsoeliminates the occurrence of internal short circuits that are a majorfailure mechanism in lithium-ion battery cells that utilize a polymerseparator.

Although Toyota and other have recently claimed to be working on solidstate batteries none have been able to arrive at a design that is closeto being capable of reaching the maturity needed for a product. Forexample, the batteries produced by Toyota recently were produced using alow-rate sputtering process with the same materials that have been usedin conventionally-produced liquid-electrolyte lithium-ion batteries forover 15 years. The Toyota design was a 4″ by 4″ cell with positive andnegative electrolytes where the active materials were lithium cobaltoxide and graphite, according to Nikkei Electronics.

The present invention achieves these benefits and others in the contextof known process technology. However, a further understanding of thenature and advantages of the present invention may be realized byreference to the latter portions of the specification and attacheddrawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The following diagrams are merely examples, which should not undulylimit the scope of the claims herein. One of ordinary skill in the artwould recognize many other variations, modifications, and alternatives.It is also understood that the examples and embodiments described hereinare for illustrative purposes only and that various modifications orchanges in light thereof will be suggested to persons skilled in the artand are to be included within the spirit and purview of this process andscope of the appended claims.

FIG. 1 is a cross-sectional diagram of a current state-of-the-artsolid-state battery cell;

FIG. 2 is an overhead diagram of a current state-of-the-art solid-statebattery cell;

FIG. 3 is a cross sectional diagram of a current state-of-the-artparticulate battery cell;

FIG. 4 is a photograph of a diagonal cross section of an actual woundcurrent state-of-the-art lithium-ion battery;

FIG. 5 is a schematic diagram of vehicle including an electrifieddrivetrain and associated electrical energy storage system;

FIG. 6A is a simplified drawing of a wound solid state battery cellaccording to an embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 6B is a simplified drawing of a wound solid state battery cell thatis compressed into a non-cylindrical container form factor according toan embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 7 is a simplified cross-sectional diagram of a solid state batterycell; and

FIG. 8. is a ragone plot showing the simulated energy density accordingto an embodiment of the present invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

According to the present invention, techniques related to solid staterechargeable battery and vehicle propulsion are provided. Moreparticularly, the present invention provides a method and system for anall solid-state rechargeable battery and a vehicle propulsion systempowered by the battery. Merely by way of example, the invention has beenapplied to a vehicle propulsion system, but there may be a variety ofother applications.

In accordance with once aspect of the invention, a transportation systemthat is powered at least in part by electricity stored in the form ofrechargeable electrochemical cells wherein those cells:

-   -   Achieve a specific volumetric energy density of at least 300        Wh/L and have a nominal capacity of at least 1 Ampere Hour    -   Contain a cathode material consisting of a phosphate or oxide        compound that is capable of achieving substantial lithium or        magnesium intercalation    -   Contain anode material consisting of a carbonaceous, silicon,        tin, lithium metal or other material that is capable of plating        or intercalating lithium or magnesium    -   Contain a solid electrolyte that consists of a phosphate or a        ceramic    -   Are produced on a roll-to-roll production process

According to an embodiment of the present invention, these cells arecombined in series and in parallel to form a pack that is regulated bycharge and discharge control circuits that are programmed withalgorithms to monitor state of charge, battery lifetime, and batteryhealth.

This invention may be incorporated in a hybrid vehicle drive train,including full hybrid, mild hybrid, and plug-in hybrids. This inventionmay also be utilized with different drive train structures, includingparallel hybrids, series hybrids, power-split, and series-parallelhybrids.

Although the above invention has been applied in a vehicle, the abovecan also be applied to any mobile computing device including, but notlimited to smartphones, tablet computers, mobile computers, video gameplayers, MP3 music players, voice recorders, motion detectors. Lightingsystems that include a battery, LED or other organic light source, andsolar panels may also be applied. Furthermore, aerospace and militaryapplications such as starter motors, auxiliary power systems, satellitepower sources, micro-sensor devices, and power sources for unmannedaerial vehicles may be applied.

The potential benefits of solid state batteries with ceramic separatorshave been discussed for over a decade, but to date few have trulycommercialized this product. One challenge that plagued thecommercialization of this product is the development of product designparameters with high levels of performance. Another challenge that hasnot been previously overcome is the development of a roll-to-rollproduction process that is required to make larger format-sized (greaterthan 1/10^(th) amp-hour) solid state batteries and winding them andpackaging them in a format that can power products that require greaterthan a micro-amp of electrical current.

The design of a solid state battery cell that can be produced at scalehas been limited by the absence of computational design tools and thehigh capital expenditures required to arrive near an optimized designthrough a trial-and-error process. This invention has been productizedafter years of work and millions of dollars of investment.

The inventors have completed a computational design toolset thatutilizes physics-based codes and optimization algorithms to arrive at aset of optimized designs for solid-state batteries that are designedspecifically for use in a number of applications. An example of suchtool has been described in U.S. Ser. No. 12/484,959 filed Jun. 15, 2009,and titled COMPUTATIONAL METHOD FOR DESIGN AND MANUFACTURE OFELECTROCHEMICAL SYSTEMS, commonly assigned, and hereby incorporated byreference herein. Without these tools it would be difficult it notimpossible to calculate the optimal materials and layer thicknesses forthe substrate, the cathode current collector, the cathode, the solidstate electrolyte, the anode, and the anode current collector. This isthe only design work of its kind that has been done computationally andverified experimentally, and an optimal set of designs has beengenerated after years of work and evaluation of literally millions ofpossible solid state battery designs.

The results of the invention are a solid state battery that has energydensity above 300 Wh/L. Although this has been achieved using somebattery systems that are designed with liquid or gel electrolytes, nosolid state batteries with ceramic electrolytes have come close toachieving this level of energy density. Furthermore, the ceramicelectrolytes and the design that is employed by Sakti3 eliminates theoccurrence of lithium dendrites and other undesirable side reactionsthat occurs between the liquid or gel electrolyte and the batterymaterials in conventional wound lithium-ion batteries. Additionally, thesolid ceramic electrolyte that is utilized in this invention alsoeliminates the occurrence of internal short circuits that are a majorfailure mechanism in lithium-ion battery cells that utilize a polymerseparator.

Although Toyota and other have recently claimed to be working on solidstate batteries none have been able to arrive at a design that is closeto being capable of reaching the maturity needed for a product. Forexample, the batteries produced by Toyota recently were produced using alow-rate sputtering process with the same materials that have been usedin conventionally-produced liquid-electrolyte lithium-ion batteries forover 15 years. The Toyota design was a 4″ by 4″ cell with positive andnegative electrolytes where the active materials were lithium cobaltoxide and graphite, according to Nikkei Electronics.

FIG. 1 is the profile view of a current state-of-the-art solid statebattery. In this diagram, a cathode current collector (16) is depositedonto a thick substrate (12) using a masking technique in a fashion suchthat it does not contact a similarly deposited anode current collector(18). A cathode material (20) is deposited onto the cathode currentcollector (16). An ion-conducting electrical insulator (22) is alsodeposited. An anode material (24) is then deposited on top of theelectrolyte such that it contacts the anode current collector (18). Theelectrochemical cell layers 10 comprise these previously mentionedelements. The cell is deposited on a stationary substrate 12. The cellhas an energy density less than 40 Wh/kg and contains less than 0.1 Ahof capacity.

FIG. 2 is a top-down view of the same cell described in the conventionalcell shown in FIG. 1. The configuration of the electrochemical celllayers 10 from FIG. 1 can be seen from above in FIG. 2. The entire cellmeasures less than 8 inches per side. The cell is hermetically sealed(32). A positive tab (16) and a negative tab (18) protrude from thepackaged cell.

FIG. 3 is a cross-section of the current state-of-the-art particulatebattery materials stacked architecture that is used in virtually allcommercial Li-ion products in automotive and consumer electronics. Anagglomeration of cathode particles, cinder materials, and conductivecoatings (6, 7, and 8) are agglomerated as the positive electrode. Thisagglomerate layer is between 50 microns and 350 microns thick. A porousseparator (4) ranging between 10 microns and 50 microns thick separatesthe anode half reaction from the cathode half reaction. An insertionmaterial such as carbon is used as the negative electrode (2). A solidelectrolyte interface layer (3) is intentionally formed on the anodeafter the fabrication of the cell in the step known as “formation”. Analuminum current collector (9) collects electrons from the cathode and acopper current collector (1) collects electrons from the anode. Themixture is bathed in a liquid or polymer electrolyte solvent (10) thatconducts ions and electrons once they are outside of the particulatematerials.

FIG. 4 is a picture showing the cross-section of a currentstate-of-the-art lithium-ion battery “jellyroll” cell. The cell is woundless than 50 times around.

FIG. 5 is schematic of a vehicle 10 incorporating an electrifieddrivetrain 12, and in particular a hybrid electrified drivetrain.Embodiments of the present invention have application to virtually anyvehicle incorporating a completely electrified (EV) or partiallyelectrified (HEV) drivetrain including plug-in type electrifieddrivetrains. The vehicle 10 is illustrated and described only as asingle possible implementation of an embodiment of the presentinvention. It is understood that numerous other configurations of thevehicle 10 and the electrified drivetrain 12 are possible. For example,energy storage modules 42 and 44, described below, are not limited to beinstallation in the same compartment. They could be arranged indifferent locations, such that they could be more easily accessible totarget electronic devices, such as an air conditioner, DC motor, etc.

The electrified drivetrain 12 includes an internal combustion engine 14coupled to a variable speed transmission 15 and traction motor 16 todrive the front wheels 18 of the vehicle 10 via propulsion shafts 20.The transmission 15 and the traction motor 16 are coupled to acontroller 22 responsive to inputs from an accelerator control 24 and abrake control 26 accessible to the vehicle operator. While the above isa full description of the specific embodiments, various modifications,alternative constructions and equivalents may be used.

FIG. 5 depicts a single traction motor 16 coupled to the transmission15, but multiple traction motors may be used. For example, tractionmotors can be associated with each of the wheels 18. As FIG. 5 depicts,a traction motor 28 may be provided to drive rear wheels 30 viapropulsion shafts 32, the traction motor 28 being coupled to thecontroller 22. Alternative configurations of the electrified drivetrain12 may provide for primary driving of the rear wheels 30 via thetransmission 15 and traction motor 16, driving of the front wheels 18and the rear wheels 30 and various combinations driving the front wheels18 and/or the rear wheels 30 via a variable speed transmission andtraction motors.

Electric energy is supplied to the traction motor 16 and the tractionmotor 28 (if provided) from a hybrid energy storage system 40 via thecontroller 22. In accordance with embodiments of the invention, thehybrid energy storage system 40 includes a plurality of energy storagemodules, two are illustrated as energy storage module 42 and energystorage module 44. The hybrid energy storage system 40 may incorporatemore than two energy storage modules. Modules may be a set of cellshaving specific characteristics, such as cell configuration, cellchemistry, control and the like.

Electric energy may be provided to the hybrid energy storage system 40by operating the traction motor 16 in a generating mode driven by theinternal combustion engine 14. Energy may further be recovered anddelivered to the hybrid energy storage system 40 during vehicle breakingby operating the traction motor 16 and/or traction motor 28 in aregenerative breaking mode. Energy also may be provided to the hybridenergy storage system 40 via a plug-in option via a plug-in interface41.

In an embodiment, the hybrid energy storage system 40 is a hybridbattery system that incorporates a first battery system portion ormodule 42 and a second battery system or module 44. The first module 42may have a first battery architecture and the second module 44 may havea second battery architecture, different than the first batteryarchitecture. Different battery architecture is meant to refer to any orall of cell configuration, cell chemistry, cell number, cell size, cellcoupling, control electronics, and other design parameters associatedwith that portion of the battery system that may be different than thesame parameter when viewed against the corresponding portion orportions. It may be preferable to have the battery pack to be locatednear certain electronic devices. Hence, energy storage modules 42 and 44may not be necessarily installed in the same compartment as the hybridenergy storage system 40. Those of ordinary skill in the art willrecognize other variations, modifications, and alternatives.

The above described system can be an embodiment of a vehicle propulsionsystem comprising a plurality of solid state rechargeable battery cellsconfigured to power a drivetrain. In various embodiments, the system caninclude a rolled substrate having a surface region, at least oneelectrochemical cell overlying the surface region, and an electricallyconductive material.

The rolled substrate can be less than 10 microns in thickness along ashortest axis. In a specific embodiment, the substrate can comprise apolyethylene terephthalate (PET), a biaxxially orientedpolypropylenefilm (BOPP), a polyethylene naphtahalate (PEN), apolyimide, polyester, a polypropylene, an acrylact, an arimide, or ametallic material which is less than 10 microns thick.

The electrochemical cell(s) can include a positive electrode, a solidstate layer, and a negative electrode. The positive electrode caninclude a transition metal oxide or transition metal phosphate. Thepositive electrode can also be characterized by a thickness between 0.5and 50 microns. The electrically conductive material can be coupled tothe positive electrode material while being free from the negativeelectrode material. The solid state layer can comprise a ceramic,polymer, or glass material configured for conducting lithium ormagnesium ions during a charge and discharge process. The solid statelayer can be characterized by a thickness between 0.1 and 5 microns. Thenegative electrode material can be configured for electrochemicalinsertion or plating of ions during the charge and discharge process.The negative electrode material can be characterized by a thicknessbetween 0.5 and 50 microns. Of course, there can be other variations,modifications, and alternatives.

Also, the layer of positive and negative electrode materials can eachhave a total surface area greater than 0.5 meters, wherein the rolledsubstrate is made of at least a polymer, a metal, a semiconductor, or aninsulator. These layers can be wound into a container that has anexternal surface area less than 1/100^(th) the surface area of theactive materials layer. In a specific embodiment, the layers ofelectrochemically active materials can be continuously wound or stackedat least 30 times per cell. The negative electrode material can includean alloy of lithium metal alloy such that the melting point or the alloyis greater than 150 degrees Celsius.

The battery cells, or electrochemical cells, found in embodiments of thevehicle propulsion system can have many favorable performancecharacteristics. The battery cells can have energy densities of no morethan 50 Watt-hours per square meter of electrochemical cells or they canhave energy densities of at least 700 Watt-hours per liter. The batterycells can also have specific energies of at least 300 Watt-hours perkilogram. In a specific embodiment, the battery cells can be capable ofachieving at least 5000 cycles while being cycled at 80% of the ratedcapacity and which have gravimetric energy densities of at least 250Wh/kg.

In various embodiments, these battery cells can be applied in one ormore of at least a smartphone, a cellular phone, a radio or otherportable communication device, a laptop computer, a tablet computer, aportable video game system, an MP3 player or other music player, acamera, a camcorder, an RC car, an unmanned aeroplane, a robot, anunderwater vehicle, a satellite, a GPS unit, a laser range finder, aflashlight, an electric street lighting, and other portable electronicdevices. Also, these battery cells can be free from solid electrolyteinterface/interphase (SEI) layers.

In a specific embodiment, the system can further comprise a multicell,rechargeable battery pack. The multi-cell rechargeable battery pack caninclude a plurality of solid state rechargeable cells. A first portionof these cells can be connected in a series relationship, and a secondportion of said cells can be connected in a parallel relationship. Also,this multicell rechargeable battery pack can include a heat transfersystem and one or more electronics controls configured to maintain anoperating temperature range between 60 degrees Celsius and 200 degreesCelsius. The plurality of rechargeable cells can comprise respectiveoutermost portions of the plurality of rechargeable cells. Each of theseoutermost portions can be in proximity of less than 1 millimeter fromeach other. Furthermore, the multicell rechargeable solid state batterypack can be insulated by one or more materials that have thermalresistance with an R-value of at least 0.4 m²*K/(W*in).

In another specific embodiment, the system with the multicell,rechargeable solid state battery pack having the solid staterechargeable battery cells can further comprise a plurality ofcapacitors configured at least in serial or parallel to provide a highernet energy density than the plurality of capacitors alone orconventional particulate electrochemical cells without being combinedwith the solid state rechargeable battery cells, and wherein themulticell, rechargeable solid state battery pack is characterized by anenergy density of at least 500 Watts per kilogram. The solid staterechargeable battery cells can be configured in a wound or stackedstructure; and utilizing lithium or magnesium as a transport ion, thesolid state rechargeable battery cells being configured in a formatlarger than 1 Amp-hour; and configured to free from a solid-electrolyteinterface layer; the solid state rechargeable battery cells beingcapable of greater than 80% capacity retention after more than 1000cycles. Such systems and other embodiments of like systems according toembodiments of the present invention can be provided within a vehiclethat is powered at least in part by these systems.

FIG. 6A is a simplified drawing of an all solid-state rechargeablebattery cell is depicted that is wound. Although a few windings aremade, this invention claims rechargeable solid state battery cells thatinclude over 50 windings per cell. The solid state cells in thisinvention may also be packaged using z-fold, stacking, or platingtechniques.

FIG. 6B is a simplified drawing of a wound rechargeable solid statebattery that is compressed after it is wound to fit into anon-cylindrical form factor. In this invention, the compression of therechargeable solid state battery films is done without cracking,peeling, or other defects of the substrate or of the deposited films.

FIG. 7 is a simplified drawing of a cross section of the activematerials layers according to an embodiment of the present invention. Ametallic current collector (72) is deposited on a long strip of a thinsubstrate (71). A positive electrode material (73) is deposited on thiscurrent collector (72) and is separated from the metallic anode material(75) by a solid ion-conducting electrolyte (74). A metallic currentcollector strip is also attached to the anode prior to cutting, winding,or stacking the cell.

This device is capable of achieving at least 250 Wh/kg in applicationsrequiring greater than 0.5 watt-hours of rated energy to be supplied tothe device. The energy density capabilities are greater in largerdevices, to the reduction of the relative mass percentage of non-activematerials.

This invention is different from the current teachings in that the Whper square meter of surface on the film is less than 50 Wh per squaremeter, a figure which is less than one half the Wh per square meter ofLi-ion batteries currently being used in automotive and portableelectronics applications. This requires the cell to be wound throughmany more rotations in order to achieve the same energy density, andwith much greater precision to maintain a defect-free film. Theinvention also utilizes a single, uniform stripe of cathode materialphysically joined to the ceramic separator rather than a compaction ofparticles that are immersed in a liquid electrolyte.

FIG. 8 is a simulated ragone of three different solid-state batterysystem design that is described in example 1 below using computationalcodes that were developed by the inventors that include aspects offinite-element analysis and multi-physics codes. Each design representsa different combination of layer thicknesses and cathode material. Thisbattery cell is simulated to have an energy density greater than 300 Whper kilogram and is produced using the proprietary manufacturingtechnique that was developed by the inventors.

EXAMPLE 1

In this specific embodiment the cell is fabricated on a wound polymersubstrate that is less than 5 microns thick. A metallic cathode currentcollector less than 0.2 microns thick is deposited onto this substrate,upon which a transition-metal oxide cathode material is deposited thatis less than 10 microns thick. A ceramic electrolyte layer is thendeposited that is less than 2 microns thick, and a metallic anodecontaining at least 50% lithium metal is deposited on this electrolyte.The dimensions of the substrate are at least 1 cm by 100 cm, and thethickness of the entire structure is less than 50 microns thick.

While the above is a full description of the specific embodiments,various modifications, alternative constructions and equivalents may beused. As an example, the present application including methods may beused with one or more elements of U.S. Ser. No. 12/484,966 filed Jun.15, 2009, titled METHOD FOR HIGH VOLUME MANUFACTURE OF ELECTROCHEMICALCELLS USING PHYSICAL VAPOR DEPOSITION, commonly assigned, and herebyincorporated by reference herein. The present methods and apparatus mayalso be used with the techniques described in U.S. Pat. No. 7,945,344,commonly assigned, and hereby incorporated by reference herein.Therefore, the above description and illustrations should not be takenas limiting the scope of the present invention which is defined by theappended claims.

1. A vehicle propulsion system comprising a plurality of solid staterechargeable battery cells configured to power a drivetrain, the systemcomprising: a stack of electrochemical cells, each electrochemical cellformed overlying the surface of a rolled substrate, said electrochemicalcell having an overall thickness of less than 50 microns, saidelectrochemical cell comprising: a rolled substrate less than 10 micronsin thickness along a shortest axis, the rolled substrate comprising asurface region; a positive electrode material comprised of a transitionmetal oxide or a transition metal phosphate, the positive electrodematerial characterized by a thickness between 0.5 micron and 50 microns;a solid state layer of a ceramic, polymer, or glassy material configuredfor conducting lithium or magnesium ions during a charge and dischargeprocess, the solid state layer characterized by a thickness between 0.1micron and 5 microns; and a negative electrode material configured forelectrochemical insertion or plating of ions during the charge anddischarge process, the negative electrode material characterized by athickness between 0.5 micron and 50 microns; and an electricallyconductive material coupled with the positive electrode material andfree from contact with the negative electrode material; wherein saidlayers of positive and negative electrode materials each have a totalsurface area greater than 0.5 meters; wherein the rolled substrate ismade of at least a polymer, a metal, a semiconductor, or an insulator;whereupon the positive electrode material comprises a positive electrodelayer; the negative electrode material comprises a negative electrodelayer; and the electrically conductive material comprises anelectrically conductive layer; and whereupon the plurality ofelectrochemical cells, each of the electrochemical cells comprising thepositively electrode layer, the solid state layer, the negativeelectrode layer, are continuously wound or stacked.
 2. The system ofclaim 1, wherein said layers are wound into a container that has anexternal surface area less than 1/100th the surface area of theelectrochemical cell(s).
 3. The system of claim 1, wherein the aspectratio of the uniform cathode material layer is greater than 500,000 whendividing the length of the longest axis by the length of the shortestaxis.
 4. The system of claim 1, wherein said layers are continuouslywound or stacked at least 30 times.
 5. The system of claim 1 whereinsaid battery cells have energy densities of no more than 50 Watt-hoursper square meter of electrochemical cell(s).
 6. The system of claim 1wherein said substrate comprises a polyethylene terephthalate (PET), abiaxxially oriented polypropylenefilm (BOPP), a polyethylenenaphtahalate (PEN), a polyimide, polyester, a polypropylene, anacrylact, an arimide, or a metallic material which is less than 10microns thick.
 7. The system of claim 1 wherein said battery cells arefree from solid electrolyte interface/interphase (SEI) layers.
 8. Thesystem of claim 1 wherein said negative electrode material comprises alithium metal alloy such that the melting point of the alloy is greaterthan 150 degrees Celsius.
 9. The system of claim 1 wherein said batterycells have specific energies of at least 300 Watt-hours per kilogram.10. The system of claim 1 wherein said battery cells have energydensities of at least 700 Watt-hours per liter.
 11. The system of claim1 wherein said battery cells are capable of achieving at least 5,000cycles while being cycled at 80% of the rated capacity and which havegravimetric energy densities of at least 250 Wh/kg.
 12. The system ofclaim 1 wherein said battery cells are applied in one of or more of atleast a smartphone, a cellular phone, a radio or other portablecommunication device, a laptop computer, a tablet computer, a portablevideo game system, an MP3 player or other music player, a camera, acamcorder, an RC car, an unmanned aeroplane, a robot, an underwatervehicle, a satellite, a GPS unit, a laser rangefinder, a flashlight, anelectric street lighting, and other portable electronic devices.
 13. Thesystem of claim 1 further comprising a multicell, rechargeable solidstate battery pack, the multi-cell rechargeable battery pack comprisinga plurality of solid state rechargeable cells; a first portion of saidcells being connected in a series relationship; and a second portion ofsaid cells being connected in a parallel relationship.
 14. The system ofclaim 13 wherein said multicell, rechargeable solid state battery packis comprised of a heat transfer system and one or more electronicscontrols configured to maintain an operating temperature range between60 degrees Celsius and 200 degrees Celsius.
 15. The system of claim 14wherein the plurality of rechargeable cells comprises respectiveoutermost portions of the plurality of rechargeable cells, each of theoutermost portions are in proximity of less than 1 millimeter from eachother.
 16. The system of claim 12 wherein the multicell, rechargeablesolid state battery pack is insulated by one or more materials that havethermal resistance with an R-value of at least 0.4 m²*K/(W*in).
 17. Thesystem of claim 1 further comprising a multicell, rechargeable solidstate battery pack having the solid state rechargeable battery cells;and a plurality of capacitors configured at least in serial or parallelto provide a higher net energy density than the plurality of capacitorsalone or conventional particulate electrochemical cells without beingcombined with the solid state rechargeable battery cells, and whereinthe multicell, rechargeable solid state battery pack is characterized byan energy density of at least 500 Watts per kilogram.
 18. The system ofclaim 1 is provided within a vehicle that is powered by at least in partby the system.
 19. The system of claim 1 wherein the solid staterechargeable battery cells are configured in a wound or stackedstructure; and utilizing lithium or magnesium as a transportion, thesolid state rechargeable battery cells being configured in a formatlarger than 1 Amp-hour; and configured to be free from asolid-electrolyte interface layer; the solid state rechargeable batterycells being capable of greater than 80% capacity retention after morethan 1000 cycles.